Shane Watson’s advice to Aussies: Avoid confrontations with Virat Kohli during Border-Gavaskar trophy series

Shane Watson advises Australian team to avoid provoking Virat Kohli in Border-Gavaskar Trophy for his best performance.

Former all-rounder Shane Watson has advised the Australian team to avoid getting into confrontations with Virat Kohli in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he feels the intensity the celebrated Indian batter derives from provocations brings the best out of him.

Going through a lean run of form, Kohli has enjoyed great success in Australia in the past and will look to regain his touch in the five-match Test series, which gets underway on Friday (November 22, 2024) at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Provoking the Indian batting mainstay has often proved to be counterproductive for the Australians, and Watson has experienced it himself.

"The one thing that I know of Virat is... because the fire burns so brightly and deep inside him, the intensity he brings to every ball that he is engaged in a game has been superhuman," Watson was quoted as saying on the Willow Talk podcast.

"But, there have been in recent times where moments in this career that fire has started to go out because it is just so hard to maintain that intensity in every moment he is involved in a game.

"And, that is where Australia have to leave him alone and hope he doesn't bring the intensity -- nine out of 10 intensity -- to every ball." Kohli has played 13 Tests in Australia since 2011, amassing 1,352 runs at an average of 54.08, including six centuries and four fifties, with a top score of 169.

While this would be his fifth tour Down Under in the longest format, Kohli's best outing came during the 2014-15 series when he aggregated 692 runs in four Tests at an average of 86.50, including four hundreds and a half-century.